Picton

Postcode: 2571

Picton is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly region in foothills of the Southern Highlands, 80 kilometres south west of Sydney. It is also the main town and administrative centre of Wollondilly Shire.

It has a station on the Southern Highlands line with a relatively infrequent service with trains running every 1.5 - 2 hours.

Picton was first explored by Europeans in 1798 and remained beyond the limits of legal settlement until 1821. Following the discovery of good land in the interior and the settlement of Bong Bong (Southern Highlands) and the Goulburn areas, Governor Macquarie authorised the building of the new Great South Road between Sydney and the Southern Highlands in 1819. This opened up the Picton area to settlers, including Henry Colden Antill, who established a 2,000 acre property in 1822.

Picton is home to many historic buildings, including two types of bridges not found easily anymore elsewhere in the state - Victoria Bridge a timber trestle bridge that crosses Stonequarry Creek, opened in 1897, and the Picton Railway Viaduct a stone viaduct opened in 1863 to also cross Stonequarry Creek. The viaduct is still in use by the railways.

In recent years Picton has become famous for the ghost tours conducted in the town. Many local residents and visitors claim they have experienced paranormal activity in some of the historic buildings and inside the disused railway tunnel on Redbank Range.

The largest skydiving dropzone called Sydney Skydivers is located just outside of Picton. Many of the skydivers venture into Picton's restaurant and pubs boosting the local economy.

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